Spark has launched Verified Call, a New Zealand-first feature that helps customers quickly identify legitimate Spark calls by displaying Spark’s name, logo, a verified badge, and the reason for calling on the mobile phone screen, giving them confidence that the call is genuinely from Spark before picking up.
The launch comes as impersonation scams remain one of the most common tactics used by scammers in New Zealand, with criminals increasingly pretending to be trusted organisations such as Spark to trick people for the purpose of gaining access to personal or financial information.
Verified Call works by sending a notification to the Spark app just before the call connects, which allows Spark’s verified branding and call intent to appear on the customer’s screen while the phone is ringing and during the call.
Spark’s Chief Brand and Corporate Affairs Officer Leela Ashford says, “In the last 12 months alone, Spark has blocked more than half a billion online threats across our network, including more than 1.2 million scam calls, and over 11.3 million attempts to access malicious websites. Since we implemented of our SMS firewall, we are now blocking text scams five times faster, with around 1.6 million scam text messages blocked so far.”
But scammers are constantly evolving their tactics, and some will still find a way through.
“Through our latest campaign and online Safety and Security Hub, we’re also shining a light on some of the biggest scams targeting New Zealanders – from parcel delivery and banking scams to impersonation and relationship scams. The campaign is designed to highlight both the scale of these threats and the work we do in the background to try and stop them, while helping people recognise the warning signs and take simple steps to stay safe.”
Spark has a dedicated team of over 100 cybersecurity experts working around the clock to identify and disrupt online threats, including scams targeting New Zealanders. Spark Fraud Lead Ross Dickson says impersonation scams often rely on moments where customers need to quickly make a decision – such as picking up a phone call. “During my 12 years in the Police, which included working on fraud and cybercrime, and now in my role at Spark, I’ve seen how convincing these scams have become. They’re more targeted than ever, and it’s getting harder for people to tell what’s real and what’s not – especially when scammers pretend to be trusted organisations.
“Verified Call adds an important layer of clarity when the phone is ringing and people need to make a quick judgement. Scammers rely on uncertainty in those moments and Verified Call helps remove that doubt, so customers can make safer decisions in real time.
“We’re also exploring how this capability could be extended more broadly across other organisations, as part of a wider, coordinated approach to strengthening trust in phone communications.”
Verified Call is available on phones compatible with the Spark app. For iOS users, that means devices running iOS 16.6 and above; for Android users, Android 8 and above.
